Editor’s note：During THIS Wellbeing Professional Development (PD) Afternoon last Wednesday, the entire THIS faculty welcomed back alumna Jessica Zhan, Class of 2021.
She returned not only to donate three O1 Sun Lamps – the flagship product of her start-up brand nochtane – to our school’s wellbeing facilities, but also to share with current students how THIS became the place where her dreams began.
Transition and Adaptation
Jessica joined THIS in 2013 as a Grade 5 student coming from the public school system. This shift to an international environment was, as she put it, “predictably rough” at first.
While it was a long time ago, Jessica still vividly remembers being encouraged – if not pushed – to communicate only in English.
Jessica said, recalling her first days at THIS:“I was amazed to find that my classmates had such a good command of English, so I started to push myself to talk only in English as well. Before I knew it, I was learning new vocabulary at an insane speed, and my English improved significantly.”
The reason behind her progress, according to her, is that the practice of English went far beyond the classroom and seeped into every activity throughout the day. The English descriptions of countless daily objects, events, and moods were naturally learned in this immersive environment.
Equally transformative was reading. “English books were like a whole new world!” Jessica shared her fond memories of reading 40-50 English books each year from the huge library collection offered at THIS. The love of reading has accompanied her ever since.
Wellbeing: Heart of Her Mission
“I was much happier at THIS than in previous schools,” Jessica reflected as saying,“The curriculum was richer. People were more sincere. I learned to think deeply and critically. I began piercing through what I was told to find what matters to me, which has always been to lead a happy and fulfilled life.”
She spent the next eight years at THIS, thriving from Primary through Secondary, before heading for the University of Edinburgh in Scotland to pursue a degree in architecture.
There, she graduated as the “Second Best Undergraduate Student in Architecture in the UK” according to Architect’s Journal.
With a bright future in architecture ahead, Jessica made an unexpected choice. She graduated one year early to launch her own business – nochtane – with the 01 Sun Lamp as its debut product.
This change of mind stemmed from a combination of observation and reflection. During an internship at a UK-based architecture firm in college, she found that architects had far less influence over construction projects than she anticipated.
Projects were shaped not by design, but by volatile clients and shifting policies. She wanted to bring change and create something that prioritized human wellbeing over endless productivity. “To do that,” she says, “I needed to understand business.”
After entertaining the ideas of trying to publishing house, a mental gym and an event-planning program, Jessica decided to create her own brand nochtane, first launched with the product “O1 Sun Lamp”, a light therapy lamp to drive away winter blues.
According to Jessica, her awareness of wellbeing started developing in THIS, which places wellbeing at the center of the eight core values. She said:“I have always paid close attention to mental health and wellbeing in general. The O1 Sun Lamp is a result of repeated trial-and-error to see which products could best communicate the message of prioritizing wellbeing.”
“During the long, dark winter months in northern UK when I had to leave home before sunrise, I definitely would have appreciated some sunshine to brighten up my mornings. Our education of health and wellbeing really should begin at a young age and I was glad to receive good wellbeing at THIS.”
Today, her business is growing. Jessica has opened online shops on major e-commerce platforms and an official account on Rednote, exploiting social media content, among others, to promote products while raising awareness for wellbeing to a wider audience.
Returning to THIS, Jessica was surprised and happy to see that her teachers had adopted wellbeing practices with students as well – exercises like wellness photos and mindful minutes.
She said it was cool to see this emphasis on student wellbeing continue to evolve. It has made her more determined about the path she chose to pursue with her start-up business.
During her school visit, Jessica reflected on her academic and entrepreneurial path with students in a humanities course. She highlighted that while the high school economics curriculum was elementary, it served as an invaluable "early introduction," which proved instrumental in laying the groundwork for both her further education and her future business initiatives.
Support System: My Safety Net
Despite her success, Jessica maintained she did not grow up with a knack for business.
“It’s true I was always very good at studying, and I was good at getting top grades, but I only learnt to do business after I jumped into it,”said Jessica, adding that her excellence in math was a boost, as “someone proficient in numbers at least won’t lose money.”
Ease with studying does not necessarily mean dexterity in starting up a business, and “how society works is very different from the rules in school, especially when you want to do something meaningful,” Jessica admitted.
When setbacks occurred, it was her support system that kept her grounded.
Once shy and unsure of herself, Jessica credited THIS teachers for giving her confidence – not just in her abilities, but in her worth. They kept encouraging her and became part of her support system even after she graduated from THIS. For her, these strong relationships with teachers were like “a safety net.”
“My teachers always tell me: ‘You are capable, and you can be successful at whatever you choose.’ You are bound to believe them a little bit if you’re told enough times,” said Jessica with a smile, explaining how she began daring to dream bigger.
“It’s not that I am not afraid of failures but that I can accept them calmly....Even if it doesn’t work out, I still know there are people who support me despite everything.”
THIS: A Great Place
A teacher who imparts knowledge is easy to find, but a mentor who guides the soul is hard to come by.
This ancient Chinese proverb, from Biography of Lu Dan, Book of Zhou,is one of THIS Executive Zhu Ying (Renee)’s favorite quotes - and it resonates more deeply than ever today.
At THIS, faculty members are required to be teachers of profound learning and role models of virtuous conduct.
For Jessica, the proverb makes more sense these days because AI has already begun replacing teachers for basic instructional work, but caring, kind teachers with integrity are still and will always be difficult to come by. She felt fortunate to have been surrounded by such people at THIS.
“My homeroom teachers gave me so much warmth. My high school math teacher voluntarily helped me skip a grade in math after spotting my talent. Everyone rooted for me as much as they could when they thought my college application results were not what they knew I deserved,” Jessica said.
“What they taught me was far more than book knowledge, but the type of person I aspire to be and the healthy, fulfilled life I want to lead. That teaching has been a throughline for my path after high school, especially for founding nochtane and its philosophy.”
To her, these are the very happy moments that will always make THIS a special place in her heart – it will always be more than a school, but a home.
Words from Alumna
In her words to the underclassmen at THIS, Jessica encouraged them to cherish the friendship they forged at school, because they would be long-lasting ones and accompany them through ups and downs of life. In addition, she urged students to always be sincere and authentic.
“THIS certainly protected us from the darker side of people. But I think it taught me that no matter what ugliness I meet in society, I could still believe in sincerity and kindness. And that is most important.”
